


look at me

by SidewaysClarinet



Category: Ao no Exorcist | Blue Exorcist
Genre: 5+1 Things, Guess who dies in the end, Hehehe, M/M, Obsessive Behavior, Ryuji is incredibly concerned, Shima is a lil weirdo, Unhealthy Relationships, Yandere
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:33:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27977406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SidewaysClarinet/pseuds/SidewaysClarinet
Summary: It takes five separate incidents for Ryuji to realize that there is something very wrong with Renzou, and only one incident for Yukio to prove that he's worse.
Relationships: Okumura Yukio/Shima Renzou
Comments: 17
Kudos: 27





	look at me

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! This is a silly little yandere fic because that character archetype is so toxic and unhealthy, and it's absolutely my guilty pleasure. I hope you all enjoy!
> 
> chapter warnings: Yandere character (and all that they typically entail), major character death, stalking, unhealthy relationships

Renzou’s interest is made known from the very beginning.

Ryuji knows he’s head over heels from the very second that they step into True Cross, the very second that Renzou sees Okumura Yukio for the first time. It’s the same look that Renzou gets whenever he spots a particularly pretty woman; the wide eyes, the flushed cheeks, the grin on his lips that just reads excitement and interest. Ryuji rolls his eyes when he sees it and cuffs Renzou up the backside of the head, ignoring his friend’s offended cry.

“That’s our teacher, you dumbass,” he hisses at Renzou, quiet enough that no one else can hear.

“Whaaaat, he’s our age!” Renzou whines petulantly, rubbing the back of his head. “There’s nothin’ wrong with it!”

Ryuji’s frown only deepens—he knows exactly how this passing infatuation is going to go. “Our age or not, he’s still our teacher, dumbass. Flirtin’ with him ain’t gonna give you a pass on homework.”

“It’s not like that,” Renzou murmurs, pouting down at his desk as he crosses his arms. “Can’t I think someone’s cute?”

Ryuji raises an eyebrow at his friend, though thankfully Renzou doesn’t attempt to give him another half-assed excuse. The class begins soon after that, and he’s able to focus on the lesson instead of correcting his friend’s flirtatious nature. He can see Renzou staring, love-struck, out of the corner of his eye, but it’s hardly more important than the opening lecture that Okumura-sensei gives them.

He’s relieved to finally be informed of the details on how True Cross works, as well as their schedules and classes, and diligently takes notes on all the information that they’re given. He’s learned over the years that his notes double as study guides for both himself and Renzou, the lazy bum, and makes sure to be extra detailed to make up for how much time the other boy is wasting with silly staring.

“Man, that Okumura-sensei really is cute,” Renzou sighs, as soon as their teacher finishes his lecture and begins handing the podium off to another man with an odd-looking mustache. “Do you think he’s datin’ anyone?”

“Is that all ya care about?” Ryuji asks, a bit disgusted and almost even concerned.

Konekomaru, however, has much more patience than he does. “I don’t think someone like him has time for dating, don’t you think?”

“Probably spends most of his time studyin’,” Ryuji agrees, elbowing Renzou. “You could learn a thing or two from ‘im.”

“Who knows, them being friends might even help him out,” Konekomaru snickers, doodling idly in his notebook. There’s a sketch of a kitten right next to the title of his page, and Ryuji admires the detail that his friend adds in the cat’s whiskers. It’s why he really only catches the tail end of whatever Renzou is murmuring.

“...single, huh?” Renzou says to himself, making that ridiculous dopey smile. “Pretty convenient.” 

“Yeah, convenient for us,” Konekomaru says, smiling. He looks up from his doodle to Ryuji, eyes mischievous. “Maybe we should set him on Okumura-sensei, see how fast sensei sends him to detention.”

At that, Ryuji almost grins. “C’mon, poor guy doesn’t deserve that. He’ll be killin’ Shima by the end of the week.”

“What a way to go out!” Renzou coos. He stands up rather abruptly, and his eyes are bright. “I’m gonna go introduce myself!”

Ryuji just barely misses the hem of Renzou’s jacket, and despairs silently to himself as his idiot friend manages to successfully escape. He watches helplessly as Renzou steps past their other classmates’ desks, beelining straight for the podium at the front of the room where Okumura-sensei stands. Their teacher is just packing away a stack of papers when Renzou finally meets him, and Ryuji groans.

“That dumbass is gonna get us on Okumura-sensei’s shitlist,” he sighs, reaching a hand up to rub at his eyes. “And so soon in the semester, too.”

“Oh, have a little faith in him.” Konekomaru reaches a hand out to pat his arm, trying to soothe despite the grin on his face. “Even he couldn’t make such a bad impression that quickly.”

Ryuji pulls back from his hand just enough to look at Konekomaru, exasperated. “ _ Only  _ he could.”

He peers over his fingers just enough to catch eye of Renzou and Okumura-sensei, and is relieved to still see the veil of teacher-like politeness pulled over Okumura-sensei’s face. He doesn’t look angry ( _ yet _ , Ryuji thinks to himself) even as Renzou leans up on the podium, moving much closer into their teacher’s personal space than what could rightfully be called friendly.

It’s between a grin and a two-fingered salute that Renzou procures a small slip of paper, laying it out on the podium, and Ryuji winces so hard that he thinks he could just die. Right there, in the classroom, in front of everyone. “That idiot gave Okumura-sensei his phone number!”

“Don’t worry so much!” Konekomaru giggles, utterly entertained by Ryuji’s second-hand embarrassment. “Okumura-sensei doesn’t look mad, he’s probably just turning Shima-san down.”

“Like that would stop him,” Ryuji mutters. “He’s incorrigible.”

He’s not quite brave enough to look up to see the aftermath of Renzou’s undoubtedly failed pick-up routine, and doesn’t even look up from his notebook, really, until his idiot friend is dropping back down into the seat by Ryuji. He braces himself for the whining complaints, but to his surprise, none come forth.

When he looks up, it’s to see that the lovestruck look on Renzou’s face has only intensified. His voice is utterly sick with it, too. “Ah, Okumura-sensei is so cool…”

“Did he turn you down?” Konekomaru asks for them both.

“Yeah.” Renzou gives a little shrug, but his smile doesn’t abate any. The flush on his cheeks only seems to redden. “Is it bad that that makes me like him more?”

“Yes,” Ryuji huffs. Trust Renzou to be the kind of guy to chase selfishly after what he wanted.

“Leave the poor guy alone, Shima-san,” Konekomaru adds, stern but not unkind. “Don’t make things awkward for any of us, alright?”

“I woooon’t, I woooon’t!”

* * *

Of course Renzou hadn’t meant it.

“Ne, ne, Okumura-sensei, come help me study this weekend, please?”

Ryuji knows better than anyone that his friend doesn’t give a rat’s ass about studying, but that doesn’t stop him from trailing like an idiot behind Okumura-sensei and asking. They’re on a study mission to the Moriyama shop’s fields to practice identifying herbs, and Renzou is  _ supposed  _ to be his partner. 

Renzou is, as always, doing no such thing.

Ryuji had barely managed to hold on to his attention at the beginning of the mission before Okumura-sensei had showed up, but now that their pharmacology teacher was here, Renzou was like a magnet drawn to a fridge. Okumura-sensei was politely chilly and professional like a fridge, too, but that didn’t stop Renzou either.

“I suppose you and your classmates could organize something like a study group,” Okumura-sensei suggests, smiling. “I’d be happy to lend my services if you all could pick a day.”

That draws Ryuji’s attention, and he looks up from the clump of dirt and leaves in his hand. “That sounds like a good idea, actually. We got that test coming up next week, right? Sounds pretty smart to get us together.”

“I guess so,” Renzou sighs, sounding disappointed. There’s the sound of ripping grass, and Ryuji looks down to see his friend idly dropping a handful of plucked dandelions onto the ground. “Means I might actually have to study, though.”

“You weren’t already planning on doing so?” Okumura-sensei asks, raising an eyebrow.

Renzou holds his hands up, grinning. “Ahh, caught! I can’t help it, y’know!”

Ryuji is relieved to see his teacher rather unimpressed by Renzou’s antics. The only thing worse than his friend flirting is to see the day that it would actually be returned. Thankfully, it doesn’t look like today is that day, though Ryuji braces himself to hear Renzou’s awkward attempts at salvaging himself.

“And how exactly is that?”

_ Oh, don’t let his dumb ass keep it goin’, he’s just gonna embarrass himself and the rest of us. _

“Well, it’s hard to focus with such a pretty sensei,” Renzou purrs, not sounding even the least bit put off. 

Okumura-sensei’s cheeks redden. Ryuji barely manages to hold back the urge to gape openly at him, but silently resolves to tell Konekomaru the  _ exact  _ way this had all gone down, because surely he was hallucinating!

“Then maybe I should have another teacher assigned to you all. Would Tsubaki-sensei help you focus on your classwork more?”

... _ is Okumura-sensei flirting back?! _

Ryuji did gape at him, then, eyes wide.  _ Is this real?  _ He has to be imagining this! His eyes have to be lying to him, there’s no way that Okumura-sensei’s flush is deepening! And for Renzou’s embarrassing flirting, of all things! It can’t be real, he has to be hallucinating.

But Okumura-sensei’s response only eggs Renzou on, and everything devolves from there. It’s a chore and a half to make himself focus completely on the herbs while they chat back and forth, Okumura-sensei’s cheeks a soft pink as Renzou smiles and snickers and flatters. The urge to gag when Renzou’s hand brushes against his chosen beau’s arm (a mortifyingly cheap tactic) is so strong that Ryuji clears his throat.

“Say, Okumura-sensei,” he says, when their attention turns to him. He pointedly ignores Renzou’s petty glare. “Can you check over this worksheet for me? I don’t want any answers or anythin’, just wanna make sure I’m headin’ the right direction.”

“Of course, Suguro-kun.” Their teacher takes his worksheet and clipboard with a pleasant smile, his flush thankfully fading away as he looks over Ryuji’s handwriting. “Mmhmm, good job so far! I think you’re making great progress with just the three left.”

“Thanks.” Ryuji takes the clipboard back and reaches a hand out to Renzou’s sleeve, giving it a sharp tug as he stands up from the ground. His friend gives a little huff but stands, looking at him with a frown and confused eyes.

“What?”

“Since I’ve been doin’ this whole damn thing so far, you can help me with the other three,” Ryuji hisses low enough for Okumura-sensei not to hear. Renzou makes a petulant look but doesn’t complain, following obediently behind Ryuji—but not without one last cheeky wave to Okumura-sensei, of course. 

As soon as they’re out of earshot, Ryuji jabs his pencil into Renzou’s side. 

“What the hell happened to not makin’ things awkward?!”

Renzou jerks away, scowling at Ryuji as he rubs his stomach. “It wasn’t awkward! You’re just cruel!”

“Ya can’t flirt with him,” Ryuji says firmly, kneeling down to the grass to keep up the illusion that they’re hard at work. “He’s our teacher, man, you’re gonna fuck everythin’ up for the rest of us if it goes wrong!”

“Then just transfer to another class,” the other boy huffs.

Ryuji turns a bewildered look up to his friend. “What? Are you kiddin’?”

“If it’s that much of a problem!”

“That ain’t even a funny joke,” Ryuji mutters. He isn’t quite in the mood for this right now; he wants to get this silly assignment done so they can head home already and he can get his essay for next week done ahead of time, and Renzou is being no help at all. Worse than being no help, he’s being annoying and ridiculous, too. “There ain’t any other goddamn classes, otherwise we’d have left you behind, idiot.”

“Then maybe you should,” Renzou counters, and the childishness in his voice makes Ryuji roll his eyes. “...I’ll just be in a class with him by myself.”

He only barely manages to stop himself from a second eye roll, though he does give Renzou a dirty look. “You’re embarrassingly shameless, y’know that?”

Of course, Renzou only gives a careless little shrug.

* * *

Renzou is stalking Okumura-sensei’s social media.

Not directly, of course. Ryuji knows that Okumura-sensei doesn’t have any social media of his own, solely because Renzou had complained about it incredibly loudly, but he seems to have a workaround. Ryuji notices this when Renzou’s half-hearted complaining abruptly silences, and when he looks down to where his friend is sprawled across the ground, he recognizes the younger Okumura twin’s face on Renzou’s phone screen.

He doesn’t say anything at first, because maybe Okumura-sensei really does have a social media, but as he watches Renzou scroll through pictures and posts, he realizes that it’s not their teacher’s account at all. A majority of the pictures are of Kuro, and sprinkled in between are blurry pictures of Rin.

Ryuji frowns, holding his textbook open with a finger as he leans a bit over the table to look down at Renzou’s phone. It’s then that he notices that yes, it is Rin’s account, and Renzou manages to zero in on every single picture that contains Okumura-sensei—no matter how blurry or cropped. It’s not necessarily… weird on it’s own, he guesses, but it certainly does raise his hackles a bit when Renzou starts taking screenshots of them.

“Dude, you’re totally bein’ a stalker,” he scolds, frowning in the face of Renzou’s surprised look. “Seriously?”

“What? You guys told me to stop hangin’ around him so much, can’t I have this?” Renzou pouts, turning to look back at his phone. He scrolls down another post, and Ryuji can practically see the adoring look on his face.

Ryuji gives a disgusted scoff. “I’d rather you harass him in person than creep on him through his brother’s account.”

“It’s not my fault he doesn’t have any social media, y’know…”

“Ya ever think there might be a reason for that?” Ryuji asks, dryly. “Maybe the poor dude is tired of weirdos like you stalking him.”

It’s meant to be somewhat of a joke, a way to poke fun while also addressing his concerns. Despite that, something in Renzou seems to tense up, and he turns serious eyes up towards Ryuji. There’s something sharp in his look that immediately has Ryuji’s stomach twisting, though for what reason exactly, he has no idea.

“You seriously think other people are doggin’ after him?” Renzou asks.

Ryuji shakes off the nervousness, and gives Renzou a weird look. “Probably. Okumura-sensei is pretty popular, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s got other admirers or whatever.”

“Not if I have anythin’ to say about it.”

The words are said in a low mutter, and worst of all, without even a hint of joking. Ryuji realizes with wide eyes that Renzou is being completely serious, and something about that makes dread pool up. He looks down at his friend, who is already absorbed in his phone again, and where he used to feel an exasperated sort of fondness at the sight of Renzou, something else has taken its place.

He doesn’t say anything then, of course. It’s weird, but surely it’s just a passing infatuation that Renzou will be over soon when Okumura-sensei inevitably turns him down again. It’s not really concerning enough for him to bring up to Konekomaru, either, so he pushes the observation down and away.

Ryuji doesn’t think about it again until a few weeks later, when they’re on lunch break and Renzou is, as always, staring dreamily at where Okumura-sensei sits with his older brother. Yukio is utterly oblivious, of course. For a second, Ryuji almost wishes that their teacher would just look to the side and see how creepy Renzou is being. 

The break in the routine comes when an unfamiliar face approaches the Okumura brothers. It’s a girl, one about their age, and she has a gentle face and a box held behind her back. She greets both of the brothers warmly, though her attention soon turns to the younger of the two brothers. Ryuji watches, curious, as she hands the box to Okumura-sensei.

“Looks like Okumura-sensei has an admirer,” Konekomaru comments over his lunch, mouth twisting into an amused smile around his chopsticks.

Ryuji goes to agree with him, but a sudden thought makes him hesitate.  _ ‘Not if I have anything to say about it.’ _

By the time he finally looks over at Renzou, the other boy is already gone. Ryuji’s wide eyes track him down to where the girl stands with the Okumura twins, and he sees Renzou sidled up by Okumura-sensei’s side. His friend has a hand on the younger twin’s shoulder, and his smile is bright, though Ryuji can see how fake it is even from across the courtyard.

“Is Shima-san seriously…?”

Konekomaru trails off, second-hand embarrassment heavy in his voice, but what Ryuji feels is much more intense than just exasperation over his friend’s actions. It’s almost something like nervousness, but not for himself. He feels nervous for the girl, and it only takes a few minutes to prove to him that his nervousness is very much well-placed.

Because when the girl goes to leave, and reaches a hand out to shake Renzou’s, his friend takes it. Not only does he take it, he takes it so firmly that Ryuji can see the girl wince from here. When she manages to separate herself, Ryuji watches her go, and sees her clutching her hand to her chest as soon as she thinks she’s out of view.

Ryuji looks back at Okumura-sensei and Renzou, where they’re laughing at a joke that Rin had cracked just seconds before, and some part of him feels that something is wrong with his friend.

Ryuji resolves rather quickly to confront Renzou about all of his creepy behavior. He had been brushing it off before as just a passing crush, but as time goes on, it becomes glaringly obvious to him that Renzou’s feelings run much deeper than that. No, the other boy is well and truly head over heels, and it would be fine if he weren’t so  _ weird  _ about it.

So, he brings it up when they’re studying alone in True Cross’ library, sequestered away from the other students cramming at the last minute for finals. Renzou is goofing off, of course, buried deep in his phone, but in some way that makes what Ryuji has to say a bit easier. He’d have a much harder time talking to Renzou if he were actually studying for once.

“Hey, Shima,” Ryuji starts, quietly. “We gotta have a talk.”

Renzou glances up from his phone, confused. “Yeah? What about?”

“It’s about Okumura-sensei,” he says, grimacing a bit as he drops his pencil down on the table. He crosses his arms and looks at the bookcase just across the room from them, instead of Renzou’s face. “Look, man, I’m all for you datin’ around, really. I’m not tryin’ to step on your toes or whatever.”

“But?” 

He sighs at that. “...but it’s gettin’ kinda weird at this point. I say this as your friend, y’know? I’m worried about you, and how much you’re obsessin’ over the guy. I think it’s getting unhealthy.”

“What are you tryin’ to say?” Renzou asks, neutrally.

“I’m sayin’ that I think you should try to get some distance from him,” Ryuji says reluctantly, knowing damn well that his friend isn’t going to take it well. “Maybe like a couple of days or so, just to chill out a bit.”

Renzou leans back in his chair, and Ryuji finally looks at him then. His eyes are cold, and his expression is blank. “And if I don’t?”

“C’mon, dude, don’t be like that,” Ryuji says, frowning. “I’m not givin’ you an ultimatum or whatever, I’m just worried about you as your friend. I think you’re gettin’ too attached to him.”

“And I think you should mind your own damn business.” Renzou’s voice verges on irritation.

Ryuji throws his hands up, exasperated. “Look, I’m just tryin’ to help, you don’t gotta go gettin’ aggressive and all!”

“I’m not bein’ aggressive,” Renzou says, simply. “I’m makin’ a threat.”

That makes him freeze, and the exasperation quickly grows into something icy in his veins. He looks at Renzou, eyes wide and brows raised, but his friend’s expression is deadly serious, his mouth a tight and angry line. He’s not joking.

He’s not joking.

“Seriously?” Ryuji asks, bewildered. “What the hell is up with you?”

“Am I not makin’ it clear?” Renzou counters, eyes narrowing. “Don’t get in my way.”

“Look, if you’re gettin’ this defensive over a crush, then you’re just provin’ my point. This is goin’ too far,” he snaps.

The other boy, however, doesn’t falter in the least. “What are you gonna do about it, huh?”

“Well, I’d tell Okumura-sensei, for starters!” God, what the hell had gotten into him? Ryuji had never seen him get so utterly defensive over a  _ fling,  _ of all things, never mind defensive enough to start an actual fight! “Jesus Christ, dude.”

But where he expects an angry retort, he gets nothing but a muffled laugh. Stunned, he looks over at Renzou to see the other boy smothering giggles behind his hand, practically doubled over himself.

He’s so thrown that he really can’t think of anything more eloquent to say than, “What the fuck.”

It’s a long few seconds before Renzou is able to sober himself, though he’s breathless when he’s finally able to speak again. His eyes are bright, but with a sick sort of humor that sets Ryuji’s hairs to standing.

“Do it,” Renzou says, grinning. “I dare you.”

* * *

This time, Ryuji doesn’t wait nearly as long to address his concerns. He finds Okumura-sensei as soon as class ends and asks to see him once the day’s courses are over, and tells him that it’s  _ urgent.  _ Okumura-sensei, though a little startled, goes to agree to seeing him privately— 

And then Renzou appears.

He appears in all of his suave, laid-back glory, with a lazy grin and an arm around Okumura-sensei’s shoulder. Renzou’s smile widens when he asks Okumura-sensei to tag along with him for dinner later that night, and to Ryuji’s despair, their teacher agrees.

“Sensei,” he tries. “I really do gotta talk to you after cl-”

“Well, you could say it here real quick,” Renzou cuts in. The grin on his face turns sharp, taunting, and Ryuji hesitates. He can’t say it here, obviously, and Renzou knows that. “Best of both worlds, right? I get him for the night, and you can still talk to him. What’s up?”

Ryuji can’t get the words out, and Okumura-sensei notices, concerned. “Suguro-kun?”

“I can… just talk to you tomorrow afternoon, I guess,” he says, a little weakly. Renzou caught him hook, line, and sinker, and their teacher is completely oblivious to it all if the confused expression on his face is anything to go by. Ryuji doesn’t know whether he should be grateful or put out.

He settles on something like anxiety when he watches Renzou lead Okumura-sensei out of the classroom, chattering on innocently about something or other. It’s hard enough processing Renzou’s concerning attachment, but now Ryuji’s old friend was  _ actively _ trying to sabotage him? And as if to make matters worse, Renzou is obviously trying to get Okumura-sensei alone before Ryuji can get to him.

He doesn’t know what Renzou’s plans are, but somehow he can just feel that they aren’t anything good.

Despite the warning still ringing in his ears  _ (“Don’t get in my way.”,  _ and Renzou’s near animalistic scowl), he knows he has to do something. There’s no way he’d be able to catch anyone else up to speed in time, nor did he really think anyone else would believe him, which means he’s going to have to do all of this alone (and he tries not to let that scare him as much as it does).

Ryuji knows he has time, today, to track Okumura-sensei down and warn him before Renzou can act any more on his creepy possessiveness. There’s only a scant few hours until the golden pinks of the sunset will fade into darkness, and his chances of catching Okumura-sensei before Renzou can stop him are swiftly disappearing like the last rays of the sun.

He doesn’t bother stopping by his dorm, and instead makes his way straight for the old abandoned dormitory that he knows the Okumura brothers are staying at. Either he’ll get to Okumura-sensei first, or he’ll find the both of them together, and either of them works; he just knows he can’t rest until Okumura-sensei knows the shit he’s wading in.

The streets only grow darker while he walks, and the old dormitory looms darkly in the growing night with all the ominousness of a growing storm. Ryuji holds the strap of his bag tighter, gritting his teeth together as he quickens his pace. He’s acutely aware of his time running short—which is why he damn near sighs aloud in relief when he sees Okumura-sensei stepping away from the dormitory and into the light of the streetlamp.

“Okumura-sensei!” he calls, watching as his teacher’s head raises at the call of his name. The younger Okumura twin is in street clothes, and the kind smile he gives Ryuji only emphasizes his casual look. 

“Suguro-kun!” he greets, waving a hand. “I didn’t expect to see you around here! What brings you this far?”

Ryuji slows when he gets closer to Okumura-sensei, tossing a nervous glance around the street. “Is, uh, did Shima make it here yet?”

Okumura-sensei blinks, looking a bit confused. “Ah, no, we had intended to change into regular clothes before meeting up again. Why? Did you want to see him?”

“No!” Ryuji blurts, a little too quickly. He tries to reign in his anxiousness, puts on a tentative smile for his teacher. “I actually wanted to talk to ya alone, if that’s cool.”

“Of course, what’s the matter?” 

“I, uh.” Now that he’s actually having to voice it aloud, Ryuji hesitates again, trying to think of the best way to put it that wouldn’t immediately freak Okumura-sensei out, or make him laugh. “You know that uh, Shima likes you, right?”

Okumura-sensei’s eyes widen a bit, before he gives a sheepish smile, cheeks flushing a bit. “Yes, I was… certainly aware of that. Shima-kun is many things, but subtle isn’t exactly one of them,” he laughs, reaching a hand up to rub the back of his neck. “Was that all that you wanted to tell me?”

Ryuji shakes his head, picking at the strap of his bag with his nails. “No, I just… as his friend, I wanted to tell you that, um… Renzou is kind of bein’ a creep about his crush, and all.”

“Is that so?” Okumura-sensei asks, head cocked to the side in confusion. “How do you mean?”

“He’s been stalkin’ your brother’s social media to find pictures of you, and, uh,” Ryuji winces a bit. “I’ve been catchin’ him scarin’ off other kids who are tryin’ to get your attention, and makin’ some really weird comments when it’s just the two of us. He was threatenin’ me just the other day, y’know, ‘cause I mentioned that it might not be cool, and I think- I think he really might hurt someone over you, Okumura-sensei, or he might hurt you, and I think we should tell- ngh!”

There’s really no words to describe the cold feeling of steel in one’s chest, nor to describe the emotion one feels when seeing the bloody tip of a blade tear through their sternum. Pain doesn’t register at first, not until his first breath through rattling, severed lungs, and then it’s blinding. Even worse is when the knife is torn out again, cruel and unforgiving, leaving blood to splatter across the ground before him.

Stunned, his legs fall out from beneath him, knees cracking against the street. The world sways violently and suddenly he’s lying against concrete, staring wide-eyed at a puddle of his own blood. He can’t even wheeze for air—nothing comes in, and all that comes out is more blood.

He vaguely registers the sound of footsteps, and the sole of a shoe comes within his field of vision. It barely precedes the knife that drops down to the ground by his face, and seconds after, the toe of the shoe pushes his head back, making the black spots in his vision grow bigger and darker.

It’s Renzou. He’s smiling serenely, blood staining his shirt.

“I told you not to get in my way, Bon.”

* * *

Renzou stands up from the corpse of his friend, giving a little sigh as his knees pop. The blood is already drying on his shirt, but he doesn’t pay it any mind, instead humming happily to himself as he turns to Yukio. His eyes are bright and cheerful.

“I was kinda hopin’ he wouldn’t get in the way, but eh,” he says, shrugging. “Win some, lose some.”

“You certainly could’ve been cleaner about it,” Yukio says dryly, looking at the gore slowly spreading across the street. “I’m going to have to clean this all up before nii-san gets home, you know.”

“Worrywart. Enjoy the moment, Yuki!” Renzou chides, rolling his eyes. He reaches hands forward to latch onto Yukio’s arm, gripping him tight and nuzzling up against the other boy’s shoulder. “He would’ve gotten between us, y’know. He’s so headstrong, he wouldn’ta stopped until he thought you were safe or whatever.”

Yukio, however, looks no less exasperated. “I’ll be sure to remember that when his family comes looking for him and finds his blood all over the concrete.”

“So? Let them find him,” Renzou huffs. He looks over at Ryuji’s body, mouth twisting. “Serves them right for putting him on such a pedestal. He didn’t even hear me comin’.”

His petulant musing is interrupted by Yukio’s hand gripping his shoulder, pulling him off and forward to face Yukio. Renzou blinks up at the other boy as his face is taken between two hands, and Yukio gives him a look like a parent explaining something to a child for the thousandth time.

“If we don’t hurry and get rid of his body, then True Cross will inevitably track us down,” he explains. “And they’ll probably keep you away from me, if they don’t just execute you first. Then how will we be together?”

Renzou’s eyes widen, and he’s quiet for a long moment. Slowly, his expression begins to morph from one of surprise to one of excitement, and there’s even a healthy dose of pride in his eyes. His hands reach up to lay over Yukio’s own, and his mouth widens into a grin.

“Are you manipulatin’ me?” he asks.

“That depends,” Yukio counters, fighting down his own smile. “Is it working?”

A surge of giddiness strikes Renzou so firmly that he can’t help the laugh, nor the way he leans forward to grab Yukio’s face instead. His lips pepper kisses across Yukio’s cheeks, his chin, his forehead, each one articulated with another giggle shared between the two of them.

“I love you,” Renzou says, breathlessly, pressing a kiss to Yukio’s lips. “I love you, I love you, I love you.”

The next kiss is longer, more tender, and when they part, the blood has rubbed off onto Yukio’s shirt as well. Before he can look down to notice it, the sound of a weak groan rings out into the street, and both he and Renzou pause. There’s only one person that could’ve made that sound, and as Renzou looks down at Ryuji’s body, he realizes that his childhood friend is not quite as dead as he should be. 

“Go on,” Yukio says, before kissing the back of his neck. His breath is warm against Renzou’s skin, and his words make goosebumps rise on the other boy’s arms. “Clean up your mess.”

With Yukio’s permission, and a grin more feral than human, Renzou lunges.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and criticisms are always appreciated!


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